Resilient support for lift magnet suspension



Oct. 7, 1969 D. J. HAYES 3,471,193

RESILIENT SUPPORT FOR LIFT MAGNET SUSPENSION Filed Dec. 22, 1967INVENTOR DONALD J. HAYES Attorney United States Patent 3,471,193RESILIENT SUPPORT FOR LIFT MAGNET SUSPENSION Donald J. Hayes, 85Glenwood Ave., Griiiith, Ind. 47616 Filed Dec. 22, 1967, Ser. No.692,950:

' Int. Cl. B66c 1/04 U.S. Cl. 29465.5 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The present invention relates generally to materialhandlingequipment and more particularly to an improved lift chain arrangementespecially suitable for attaching a lift magnet to the lift hook of anoverhead crane.

The lift chain assembly commonly used to attach a lift magnet to thebook of an overhead crane consists of a bull ring mounted upright on abase and a plurality of lift chains each attached by one end to the bullring base and anchored at its other end on the face of the magnetopposite its work-engaging face. When it is desired to attach the magnetto the lift hook of an overhead crane, the crane operator lowers thelift hook and manipulates the lift block of the crane in an effort toengage the bull ring with the crane hook. Prior to my invention, moreoften than not this operation was unsuccessful on the first try and onlyresulted in the upright bull ring being knocked over by the crane hook.When this happened, it was necessary for the floorman or crane followerto pick up the bull ring and manually place it on the lowered cranehook. Since the lift chain assembly, of which the bull ring was a part,was relatively heavy, manual placement of the bull ring on the cranehook frequently resulted in injury to the workman performing the task.Such manual hook-up procedure also delayed the crane for a longer timethan was necessary.

It is, accordingly, the primary object of my invention to provide anovel and unique support arrangement for the lift chain assembly of alift magnet wherein the bull ring of the lift chain assembly isresiliently supported above the non-working face of the magnet.

As a corollary to the object above, it is a more specific object of myinvention to provide a support arrangement as set forth in which thebull ring is supported on a spring-loaded pedestal projecting upwardlyand centrally of the non-working face of the magnet which pedestalconstantly urges the bull ring away from the magnet and maintains thelift chains attached thereto taut so that the bull ring is kept inupright position.

These and other objects will become more apparent after referring to thefollowing specification and attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view partly in section of a lift magnethaving the support of the invention incorporated therein; and

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along the lineIIII of FIGURE 1, with parts removed for clarity.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, reference numeral 2designates generally a lift magnet having a magnetic work-engaging face4 and a non-magnetic, nonwork-engaging face 6 opposite face 4. Threeupwardly pro ecting chain anchor clevises 8 are provided on the3,471,193 Patented Oct. 7, 1969 face '6 of magnet 2 equally spacedadjacent the periphery thereof.

A plate 10, which may be integral with the face 6 of the magnet orwelded thereto, is disposed centrally of the magnet face 6. A hollowtube 12 is welded in upright position on the plate 10 extendingsubstantially normal to the face 6. A helical compresion spring 14 isseated in the tube 12 with its upper end projecting axially beyond thetube. A hollow tube 16 having an inside diameter slightly greater thanthe outside diameter of tube 12 is slidingly telescoped over theprojecting portion of spring 14 and tube 12. A platform plate 18 iswelded or otherwise rigidly attached to tube 16 spanning the end thereofremote from the tube 12.

A lift chain assembly, designated generally by reference numeral 20,including a bull ring 22 rigidly mounted in upright position on a base24, and three lift chains 26, is provided for suspending the magnet fromthe lift hook 28 of an overhead crane. Each of the lift chains 26 isanchored at its lower end to a clevis 8 by means of a bolt 30 whichextends through each side of the clevis and the bottom link of the chainreceived therebetween. The upper end of each lift chain is secured tothe base 24 of the bull ring 22 by means of bolts 32. The lift chains 26are spaced around the base 24.

The base 24 with bull ring 22 upright thereon rest on the platform plate18. The upper portion of spring 14 bears against the underside ofplatform plate 18 so that the platform plate and the bull ring thereonare constantly urged upwardly of the face 6 of the magnet 2 and the liftchains 26 are maintained taut so that the bull ring may be easilyengaged by the crane hook 28 solely by manipulation of the crane liftblock (not shown) and hook 28 by the crane operator. If the crane hookaccidently strikes the bull ring or any other part of the lift chainassembly the bull ring will remain upright due to the taut condition ofthe lift chains 26 and the resilient nature of the spring-loadedpedestal formed by the spring 14, the platform plate 18 and thetelescoped tubes 12 and 16.

The platform plate 18 may be of substantially a three leaf cloverdesign, as best shown in FIGURE 2, so as to provide peripheral notches34 for receiving the lift chains 26. It will be understood that thechain assembly may include more than three lift chains in which case theplatform plate may be shaped accordingly to accommodate more than threelift chains.

When the bull ring 22 is engaged by the lift hook 28, as explainedabove, and the magnet is lifted, there is no jerking action on the liftchains 26 since they are maintained taut by the spring-loaded pedestalformed by the tele scoped tubes 12 and 16 and the spring 14. As aresult, the lift chains 26 have a longer service life than was possibleheretofore.

It is believed that the operation of the apparatus of the invention isclearly apparent from the foregoing description, and, therefore, furtherelaboration thereof is not thought to be necessary.

While I have shown but one embodiment of my invention, it will beapparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a lift magnet having a work-engaging face and non-workengagingface opposite thereto, and a lift chain assembly connected with saidnon-work-engaging face adapted to be engaged by a lift hook to lift saidmagnet, said lift chain assembly including an upright bull ring and aplurality of lift chains each attached by one end to said bull ring andanchored at its other end to said magnet, the improvement therewith of aspring-loaded pedestal projecting from the non-work-engaging face ofsaid magnet substantially centrally thereof, said bull ring beingdisposed on and supported by said pedestal whereby said bull ring isresiliently supported and is constantly urged away from said magnet andsaid lift chains are maintained taut.

2. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which said spring-loaded pedestalincludes a first hollow tube fixedly attached by one end to saidnon-work-engaging face of said magnet substantially centrally thereofand projecting normal thereto, a helical compression spring seated insaid tube with one end projecting outwardly thereof, a second hollowtube slidably telescoped over the projecting end of said spring and saidfirst tube, a platform rigidly attached to said second tube spanning theend thereof remote from said first tube, said bull ring being disposedon and supported by said platform, the projecting end of said springbearing against said platform to thereby constantly urge said platformand said second tube away from said magnet.

7 References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,529,440 11/1950 Willis294-65.5 10 3,299,628 1/1967 Chisler 29465.5

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner

